New Orleans abuzz over Serena Williams wedding

Star wattage abounded in New Orleans on Thursday as A-list celebrities gathered for the wedding of tennis superstar Serena Williams and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

Despite the media frenzy, the happy couple released few details of their ceremony. But unnamed sources told People magazine and the Daily Mail that some 250 guests were invited to the festivities at the southern US city's Contemporary Arts Center.

Security for the event was tight. An entire block in the Big Easy -- a city known for its jazz music and party atmosphere -- was closed to traffic.

A steady train of black SUVs brought members of the wedding party to the event, as workers hurried final preparations for the festivities.

According the entertainment website ETonline, the wedding was to have a "Beauty and the Beast" theme. It said the tennis star's sister Venus was seen late Wednesday leaving the arts center.

Workers could be seen early Thursday transforming the arts complex for the ceremony, while the parking lot beside the building was full of tents and trucks unloading flowers, tables, carpets, wardrobe, and musicians.

Chefs cooked in an outdoor tent, and the locally popular New Orleans band Naughty Professor were seen arriving in the late afternoon.

The Daily Mail said the event would cost more than $1 million and guests would be asked not to bring their cell phones, because an exclusive photo deal had been signed with Vogue.

Pedestrians walk past the road closure outside the Contemporary Arts Museum, where Serena Williams will be getting married in New Orleans, Louisiana

Williams, 36, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, and Ohanian, 34, welcomed their first child, daughter Alexis Olympia, on September 1.

They announced their engagement in December after meeting in 2015 in Rome.

While New Orleans was no stranger to celebrities and weddings, the star wattage Thursday stirred up extra excitement in the city.

Linda Davis and Cora Riley drove four hours from the small Louisiana town of DeRidder just to get a glimpse of the tennis champion. They waited outside the arts complex for several hours.